Nov. 25--When it's Thanksgiving time, we all start to think about the things that make us most thankful. For a social media columnist, that includes things other than stuffing and sweet potatoes, although I do love those.
So what has me giving thanks this year from a social media perspective? Here's a taste.
Tweetdeck
It's a tool that could use several improvements, but it's a tool I rely on to make sure I don't miss a beat on Twitter. Currently, I have 74 columns in my tweetdeck, focusing on everything from what's being said about the Chicago Tribune to holiday recipes.
I have always loved photography, so being able to combine that love with my love of social media is like a dream come true. I could do without the ads, but that's a minor annoyance.
Buffer
It just works, and when it doesn't, the customer service team is so kind and quick to follow up. Buffer is a scheduling tool, but I hardly use it for that purpose. Buffer is my holding queue for the things I want to tweet down the road but don't have to tweet immediately. There are other bookmarking tools that will do this, but none is as good as Buffer.
Spotify
So many people do not consider Spotify to be a social network, but I beg to differ. From a work perspective, I use Spotify to curate content based on specific events. So for example, when there's a snowstorm I crowdsource snowy songs perfect for getting stuck indoors.
Periscope
This year, livestreaming has made a comeback. First we had Meerkat. Then Periscope. Then Facebook live video. No winner has officially been declared, a la the VHS-Betamax war of the early 1980s, but I've decided that Periscope is miles ahead of the other offerings right now.
Snapchat
I'm a little surprised I'm adding Snapchat this year, seeing as I'm not 15. But Snapchat is a little place where I can share exclusive content with a small group of people. And Snapchat just added the ability to chat from directly inside someone's Snapchat story. This is a great way to make Snapchat even more social. Follow me at scottkleinberg and you'll see some photos and videos that I don't share elsewhere.
Facebook's 'save link' feature
There are so many times I see a great story in my feed and don't have time to read it right away. So my work flow is to save the story right within Facebook and then consider moving it to Buffer for later sharing. On my social media wish list is a direct button within Facebook that bypasses the need to save it and puts it directly in my Buffer queue. We'll see if social media Santa Claus comes through there.
Ello
It's an up-and-coming social network that few of my friends are on, but I love the small, closely knit community and the quality content they post. The Chicago Tribune has been active on Ello since day one, and we've been a featured publisher because of it. We have more than 3,000 followers on the Tribune account, and I personally have more than 2,000. If you haven't yet given it a go, I would highly recommend it.
You, my readers
So Social is now nationally and internationally syndicated, and that couldn't have happened if you didn't read it and support it. Thank you.
Have questions about social media? Tweet them to @scottkleinberg with hashtag #SoSocial. He might use yours in a future column.
